Zumberak Nature Park - Croatia

The Nature Park covering over 34,200 ha surface is situated in the NW of Croatia where the characteristics of the Dinarides, the Alps and the Pannonian plain meet. The Dinaric type is featured in karst landscape, the Alpine landscape is obvious in steep and harsh mountain ridges and mild hilly country is a typical Pannonic feature. The highest mountain ridge is located close to the northern boundary of the Park. Due to its relative inaccessibility, human impact has been kept to a minimum, which is why this particular part of the Park remains closest to its original form. The majority of settlements are situated between 400 and 700 meters altitude, which presents a valuable feature of the Park.

The hilly area of Žumberak and Samobor is one of the least inhabited areas in Croatia. During thousands of years of their presence, people living in the area have managed to preserve the balance – as seen in the vistas of traditional villages, pastures and fields, that still merge harmoniously into the background of endless forests. Over time, the traditional lifestyle and use of land have created a characteristic, recognizable landscape, marked by villages and hamlets intertwined with arable land, meadows, pastures and forests. It is precisely this mosaic of preserved traditional landscapes, coupled with the rich flora (over 1,000 plant taxa recorded) and fauna, geological characteristics and valuable archaeological finds, that attracts hikers, mountain climbers and nature lovers to the area today.

Mosaic landscape with meadows, orchards, fields and traditional villages, harmoniously connected with endless forests, is not merely a visual value, but also biological one. By taking away space from the forest in order to build villages and create pastures and meadows, people of the region have ensured space for various non-forest habitats, which have significantly contributed to the current abundance of plant and animal species.

Department of professional services of protection, conservation, promotion and utilizing the Nature Park is in charge of professional activities concerning protection, maintenance, preservation, promotion and utilization of the protected area with a special accent on making management plans, annual programs and their implementation, as well as landscape and living creatures monitoring, maintenance of cultural monuments, monitoring of capital investments, info-centers activities and other professional services.

Department of monitoring (Rangers service) is in charge of monitoring the Nature Park area according to the Nature Protection Act and the Statute of internal organization and functioning of Žumberak – Samoborsko gorje Nature Park, protection, preservation and promotion of the park, as well as planning, organizing and implementation of educational visits, ecological education of visitors and the locals, visitors' security, coordination of research leaders with other projects, cooperation with estate owners and users, surveillance of legal activities and maintenance of infrastructural objects.

Department of general and administrative activities is in charge of administrative, personnel, legal, financial, book-keeping and accounting services, as well as equipment, vehicle and other technical and maintenance jobs in the Institution premises.